SPIRITUALITY'S IMPACT ON INTERNALIZED HETEROSEXISM AND SEXUAL IDENTITY FORMATION

This study explores the effects of being spiritual but not religious on psychological well-being and internalized heterosexism in queer individuals. A sample of 152 queer participants completed empirically validated measures on spirituality/religiosity, internalized heterosexism, psychological well-being, and sexual identity integration, in addition to open-ended questions exploring their experiences in more detail. Consistent with prior research, analyses found religious/spiritual identity to be a significant predictor of internalized heterosexism, with participants from Christian and non-Christian religions having higher levels of internalized heterosexism. Higher levels of internalized heterosexism were found to be associated with lower levels of psychological well-being. Despite this, those from Christian-based religious backgrounds were found to have higher levels of psychological well-being than the spiritual but not religious. The results, when contextualized by qualitative analysis, suggest that the spiritual but not religious may have lower psychological well-being due to negative experiences with religion and a perceived lack of community, while religious participants benefit from the protective factors that religious communities provide. Clinical implications are discussed.